Film review: Speed Racer

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Starring: Emile Hirsch, John Goodman, Matthew Fox, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon.
Running time: 135 minutes
Release date: May 9 2008
Certificate: PG

Written, directed and co-produced by Andy and Larry Wachowski, the creators of the Matrix trilogy, Speed Racer is based on the 1960s anime series Mach GoGoGo.

Set to be the first blockbuster of the season, Speed Racer is two and a quarter hours of retina-burningly colourful visuals, hi-octane races, and eye-popping stunts. This is the film the Wachowski brothers wanted to make for their nieces and nephews, and it may be the film which introduces them to a much larger worldwide audience than the Matrix films.

The plot

The story revolves around the eponymous hero, played by Emile Hirsch, loyal to his family’s racing business, whose only dream is to follow his late brother, Rex Racer, into the racing history books.

Showing early promise and courted by the big teams, Speed teams up with the mysterious Racer X (played by Lost star Matthew Fox) to end race fixing and corporate dominance of the sport.

The racing

As you’d expect from the creators of the Matrix, Speed Racer’s CGI visuals are nothing short of stunning.

But die-hard motor sport fans need not apply. These computer-generated races dispense with realism and are visually somewhere between Tron and Gran Turismo.

Cars flip over each other, battle each other with weapons and drive up mountainsides. The emphasis is firmly on fun, and at 400mph it’s a real rollercoaster ride.

So is it worth taking your children to see when it’s released on May 9? Definitely. Your car-mad kids will love it, and there’s enough visual excitement and monkey humour to keep everyone entertained.

And it’s the only film in which you’ll see John Goodman fight a ninja.

Watch the Speed Racer trailer below.

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